1 in 5 millennials prefer government spying to partner snooping

One in five millennials would rather the government snoop on their phones than their significant other, according to a new survey.

The survey, commissioned by Radware and carried out by Harris Poll in March, questioned over 2,200 Americans over the age of 18 and, rather unsurprisingly, found that a staggering 89 percent majority of overall participants would rather give their spouse complete access to their phone than give it over to state surveillance.

Proportionally speaking, men and women voted exactly the same way, 89 percent to 11 percent in favor of opening their smart devices to their spouse.

Even though a clear majority in every cross-section of the data rejected government surveillance, there was a notable variation to the degree to which this was the case across generational demographics. The 18-to-34 age group, for example, was more than twice as likely as any other generation to choose to open their phone to the government over their spouse (20 percent versus 8 percent).

It can’t be said from the survey whether this trend reflects that millennials are simply more inclined to want privacy from their partners or an apathy toward government mass surveillance.

A recent Motherboardreport studied the growing market for ‘spouseware,’ and a controversial trend of American couples purchasing spyware packages to secretly monitor one another’s digital communications—sometimes to uncover suspected infidelity and, in more serious cases, to intimidate or control their partner.

As everyday digital connectivity continues to evolve, the way in which it tests individual relationships and citizenry continues to change. However, the simple desire for privacy remains at the heart of that conversation.